The Sower

Archive for November, 2007

December Begins with a Bang

Friday, November 30th, 2007

What’s News Around Bethel:

This Sunday: Have you tried the Wired 9:00 a.m. venue yet? This up-tempo worship service is in the fellowship hall and features Dave Dawson as emcee.  There’s a 3-in-1 missions team report in Desert View at 6:30, where you’ll get the opportunity to hear about kingdom pursuits in 3 areas of the […]

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Guidelines for Group Prayer

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Practical principles for an ongoing, transformational walk with God
by Wayne Jacobsen
Prayer helps us discover what God is doing and trace his hand in the circumstances of our lives. In the process, God transforms us. Prayer is not a means of manipulating the master plan, but of being shaped by the master’s hand.
Unfortunately, not all prayer […]

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Spice Up Your Group Meeting

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Our God is a creative God. And our small group meetings should be fresh and creative, too! Here are some fun and ministry-oriented things your small group could consider. (compiled by Brian Saunder and Larry Kreider)

Spend an entire meeting in prayer.
Spend and entire meeting in worship.
Parties for any occasion–good times to invite the unsaved.
Work parties […]

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Sunday’s Message Was So Good That…

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

…it deserves a recap. Especially the part about taking sin seriously. Leaders, let’s be about these pursuits as examples to our group members:
1. Stay filled with Jesus. There’s no need to go out for “more” when filled up.
2. Make no provision for the flesh.  Take the eclairs out of the fridge and maybe the Internet […]

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Small Group Thankfulness

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

Some leaders were asked what they were specifically thanking God for doing in their small group in the first couple months of group. First responders said:

One of the guys in the group shared their testimony with us. (Kip McDowell)
We are thankful to the Lord for the smooth transition from one GROW group to two. […]

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60 Seconds with a New Small Group Leader

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

Bryan Dunfee and wife Carol started leading a GROW group a little over a month ago. Bryan has a great sense of humor and has been a vital part of the Bethel tech team in 2007.  Quick Q & A with Bryan in passing:
1.    What are you personally doing to pursue a deeper relationship with
Jesus […]

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Practices of Effective Small Group Leaders

Wednesday, November 14th, 2007

Follow these practical steps to get your group funneled in the right direction.
Without a doubt, small group leaders have the greatest influence over the atmosphere and dynamics within their groups. They set the tone, whether positively or negatively, for all aspects of group life.
Fortunately, group leaders don’t have to figure out what to do (and […]

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The Veterans in Small Group Leadership

Wednesday, November 14th, 2007

Dick Erickson, chairman of our elder board, has been leading a small group with his wife Jeanne for a LONG TIME. With all those years of leadership comes much wisdom. We tried to dig a bit with this couple to tap into some of that wisdom.
1.    You’ve been leading small groups for many years now, […]

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Leadership Lesson from a Bethel Leader

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

At a recent staff training Bethel small group leader Don Odegard shared lessons learned from his leadership of turning around 5 companies and how those same principles can be applied to group/team leadership.
Don’s High Five in Team Mechanics (modified from The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team)

1. Trust (starts with the consistency of the leader)
2. Conflict […]

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Got Goals?

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

At the Leadership Briefing, leaders paired up to discuss a few things like their response to  Pastor Dave’s teaching, their impossibility/God-sized thing, and their goals for their group this year. Here are some sample goals from the Resonate groups. What are yours? What are you aiming at?
Group goals:

Multiplication
Deeper in relationship with one another
Deeper in relationship […]

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